An Extended Reynolds Equation for Non-Newtonian Lubrication With the Upper Convected Maxwell Model

Abstract The upper convected Maxwell (UCM) model is one of the ways to describe lubricant’s viscoelasticity. In this paper, a new modified Reynolds equation for the UCM model is derived. This equation may be called extended as compared to its analogs because it incorporates the complete structure of the upper convected derivative without the explicit omitting of any term or using the perturbation technique. Then, a numerical scheme for solving the viscoelastic lubrication problems with the employment of the derived equation is described. A mixed Euler–Lagrange approach is used here: the constitutive rheological equations are resolved by a semi-Lagrangian technique and the extended Reynolds equation is discretized by the finite volume method. A constant surface slope problem is considered as a test case. Excellent agreement is achieved between the numerical solution at low Deborah number and one of the approximate solutions. The results of simulations with different types of time derivative used in Maxwell model both for two- and three-dimensional cases are also discussed.